


Let the liar lie (safe in a bed tonight)

by gottis



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 02:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12973263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gottis/pseuds/gottis
Summary: Kiriya is an absolute mess who can be regularly found sleeping at work and never seems to go home. Jungo realises that's because he doesn't have a home and makes a deal to let Kiriya stay with him for a while.





	Let the liar lie (safe in a bed tonight)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarineHaddock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarineHaddock/gifts).



> This is a fill for the Another Toku Holiday Special (2017 Edition) for MarineHaddock. Hope you'll enjoy!

I don’t know what I expected. It was close to Christmas, and even though no one I knew rarely celebrated it, Kiriya had gone on and on about the Christmas spirit until I thought my ears would fall off. Someone like that either had a thing for Western traditions or family values or a sweetheart waiting for him at home, I figured. To see him on the morning of the 23rd of December conked out on the hard, uncomfortable sofa in our staff room was a bit worrying. Even more so because it was hardly the first time I’ve seen him there.

Frowning, I slammed the door shut, aiming to wake him up.

I was successful, and he immediately bolted up, hair a right mess and his doctor’s coat that he had been using as a blanket (why) pooled down onto the floor.

“Jungo,” he exclaimed. “Didn’t see you there, mate…”

“Naturally,” I replied dryly as I deposited my briefcase by my desk. “You were asleep.” I pulled out my chair to sit down, but in the end, I didn’t. Merely rested my hand on the back of the chair as I looked at him. “Did you pull another all-nighter?”

Kiriya seemed to struggle with waking up properly and he staggered to his feet, picking the coat up from the floor and pulled it up over his shoulders. Why he never could seem to bother with putting it on properly - the sleeves were there for a reason! - was beyond me.

“Yup. You gotta give it to me,” he grinned, “that I’m the most hardworking dude on the block!”

“You say that,” I grumbled, finally taking a seat, “but most of your clientele consist of dead people. They can hardly support that claim of yours.”

Sometimes I thought that Kiriya viewed work as a game, when it was anything but. We surely weren’t in kindergarten anymore. We dealt with human lives, or in Kiriya’s place, finding out truths so that relatives to deceased ones could find a sense of peace. It was nothing you could be nonchalant about! But Kiriya simply danced through work and life with that crooked grin on his face. It was a charming grin, sure, he was definitely infectious with his energy and his wit, but I wanted to think that I was in the right and that he was too easygoing at times.

“Blah blah blah.” Kiriya had the gall to shrug at me. “That stick up your ass can’t be good for you, Jungo. One of these days, you’re gonna burst. Ah, would be nice if you didn’t do it during work hours though, not sure how I’d explain that to Director Kagami, if you get my drift?”

“I will not burst,” I said with a disgusted face. “Just go home, your shift’s over and you’re hindering my work.”

Something, I’m not sure what, passed over Kiriya’s face, but the next second he grinned widely and nodded. “Sure thing. Don’t miss me too much, now~”

I simply shrugged and waved him off before rolling my sleeves up, getting ready for work. First on the list was a teenage boy who had collapsed after gaming too much. I shook my head, sighing. Gaming couldn’t be good for you if it made kids overly obsessed like this…

* * *

Hours later my shift was over. My feet were sore and my eyes felt sandy; it had been a taxing day and the hours had run late. I barely dared to look at the time, but on the other hand, I had no one waiting for me at home, not even a single pet, so I was in no immediate hurry. I was tired, sure, but my home didn’t hold too much appeal to me.

I changed out of my work clothes and headed over to the staff room to get my suitcase. And then, I stopped dead in my tracks.

There was Kiriya.

Again.

I couldn’t help but stare at him, mouth wide open in my stupor.

“Oh, hiya,” he said. “Didn’t think you’d still be here…”

Something in his tone made my annoyance dissipate a bit. I don’t know what it was, it was vague enough, but it made me double take and squint at him. He was dressed in the exact same clothes as he had been during the morning. Didn’t look like he had washed them in the meantime either. He was shaven, but a bit sloppily, a small, white bandaid covering a section of his jaw. I stepped closer, suddenly feeling something akin to dread.

“Work took longer than expected,” I explained halfheartedly. “You know how it is. …Why are  _you_ still here? It’s ‘still’, isn’t it, Kiriya?”

The grin on his face flickered. “What of it?”

“Well, it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. In a few hours. And then it’s Christmas. Shouldn’t you be… I don’t know. Home? Celebrating?”

“Oh, yeah!” He laughed. It too set me off, there was something unnatural about that laugh. “Yeah, I just dropped by to… Pick up some stuff. No biggie.”

I knew. I don’t know why, because Lord knows I’ve never been quick at picking up cues from him before, but I just knew.

“You’re lying, Kiriya.”

“What am I lying about, Jungo?”

“I don’t know.” I thrust out my hands helplessly. “I really don’t know. What would you even feel the need to lie about? To me?”

I wasn’t imagining things. I knew I wasn’t, because this time, I could visibly see how he flinched. That was… Extremely alarming. And then he laughed again, humorlessly.

“Damn if I know why I’d ever lie to you… Thing is, though. I am. You’re right, you’re damn right, I’m lying through my teeth here. But what am I supposed to do? Can you tell me, Jungo? ‘Cause I’m feeling like I’m beating my head bloody against a wall here and I’m getting nowhere, fast.”

I stared at him. “What are you even talking about?!”

“I can’t go home,” Kiriya said lightly. Again, I gaped at him.

“That is ridiculous.”

“Is it? How is it ridiculous? Anyway, man, don’t make a big deal out of this or anything, ‘cause it’s not, it’s just the way things are, but… Uh.” Whatever he was about to say, he seemed to lose his courage to do so, his voice trailing off. I noticed that he wasn’t looking at me. Like he couldn’t bear to meet my eyes? How was that even possible? This was _Kiriya_! Kujo Kiriya, probably the cockiest man on the face of the Earth.

I was tired. Tired and wanted to go home, but I couldn’t let this be. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at him with narrowed eyes. I wasn’t going to prompt him to speak, not verbally, but I wasn’t about to leave until I’ve made him talk either way. Kiriya looked uncomfortable. He dragged his hand through his hair and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and then back again. He was a short man, almost everyone towered over him, myself included, but he was damn prideful. I intuitively knew that he was fighting a silent battle against that pride right now. And I waited.

Eventually…

“I can’t go home, Jungo, because I have no home.” Getting those words out must have been like pulling teeth. In the back of my mind, I knew that. Didn’t stop me from growling at him.

“Oh, come _on_! That isn’t funny! Of course you do!”

“What? Shut up. No, I don’t. Okay? I don’t. I’m not gonna give you my whole damn sob story here, but the thing is… No family who wants to speak with me. No friends, except you and Nishiwaki. Aaaaand… No home. Was evicted from my apartment three months ago. You know, the whole paying rent and shit? While trying to uh… Survive? Yeah, that wasn’t working out for me very well. So, here I am. You can’t blame me for crashing in the hospital, man! It’s warm, for one.”

I almost felt like I had been punched. Which was ridiculous. But if this was true - that was sad, wasn’t it? That one even doubted Kiriya when he said something like this - it was horrible. I had never come in contact with something like this before. Of course, I knew about homeless people. But somewhere, I always imagined them as dirty, run-down people who more often than not were drunks and drug users, people that absolutely did not work at a hospital as famous as Seito University Hospital.

“Are you… Are you really telling the truth?” I wanted to believe that he didn’t. I didn’t want this reality to be true. How could I not have noticed? I should have.

Anger flashed across Kiriya’s face, and he stomped toward the door. I stared at him, confused. Was he leaving? Why was he leaving? He had no where to go… At that thought, I froze. Did that mean I actually  _did_ believe him? Somewhere deep down?

“Wha--what are you doing,” I asked weakly. “Where are you… Going…?”

“Oh, home, of course!” He turned to look at me, and now, even though he was grinning again, his eyes were still angry. Angry and… Hurt? “You got me, hah hah, I’m lying again. Dramatic much, eh? Man, do I got it or what!”

“…Kiriya, slow down. Come on, let me think. You can’t just throw this at me and just…”

“Just what? Expect you to maybe act like a friend and believe me? You know how hard that was to say? Do you? Nice going there, Jungo. Thanks a lot.”

I suddenly jumped, because Kiriya had banged his fist against the door, loudly. I could hear him curse under his breath.

I had to fix this. And fast. But how? How to…

“Stay with me.” I allowed myself to say the words before I thought about them too long. It felt almost good to see how he stared at me, lowering his arm and uncurling his fist.

“Huh?”

“I mean it. Stay with me. For now. Until you can get up on your feet again.”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on… Why would you do that?!”

“Christmas spirit?” I tried to joke. It felt like it fell flat. Well, I never was the most humoristic guy around. “…No, but come on. You’re my friend. I can’t let you just… I don’t need a reason to help out, do I?”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

It was my turn to stare. “But why not?!”

“I’m not going to leech off my buddy, are you serious? No way I’m gonna do that!”

It was his pride at work again, wasn’t it? I had to think. Think and think. How could I convince him?

“Okay, well. Then you help me. And we’ll call it even.”

He looked suspiciously at me. “Help you _how_ , exactly?”

He didn’t mean anything lewd, did he? With Kiriya, you never knew. Rumor was that he slept around a lot. Did he think I was going to do anything like that as well? Take advantage of him? I… Found him attractive, that was no secret. But I’d never treat him bad. I looked helplessly at him, not sure what he expected me to say.

In the end, he was the one who spoke up first. “What do you want me to do?” I felt guilty that he felt he had to repeat - rephrase - the question.

“You’re good with computers. I mean, you’re really good with computers. You can help me with paperwork and the like, when I’m swamped with work. I never seem to catch up and then I feel bad about it and I take on more work and it’s a vicious cycle, and if I got some help with that, it’d be worth a lot. I promise. Kiriya, please?”

He seemed to relax. Visibly so. Stout shoulders slumped and a nonchalant grin found its way to his lips, his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants. He chuckled. Then the sound grew, and he threw his head back, laughing. It was a different laugh from before, this laugh was bright, relieved, genuine. It was an amazing sound and I wanted to hear it more. A lot more. Eventually, he stopped, and nodded.

“Fine. You’ve got a deal, Aihara Jungo.” He held out his hand toward me, knuckles slightly bruised already. I reached out my own hand to take it, then blinked in surprise as Kiriya simply smacked my hand with his. “So,” he said, “what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here! I can’t  _wait_ to sleep in a real bed tonight!”

Oh. Right. Bed.

Well, for tonight, I’d let him have my bed, I could sleep on the sofa. And we’d figure out the rest of the details day by day.

Outside, it had began snowing, the dark night filling up with pure whiteness and hope.


End file.
